Once In A Lifetime Opportunity
by x.x.Beth C.x.x
Summary: Lydia Asgeirsson along with her sister Hannah went on the adventure of a lifetime with Trevor and Sean Anderson. Adventure with plenty of romance.
1. The Andersons

_**A/N: This is my first Journey to the Center of the Earth fanfiction. It's a SeanXOC story and I tried to make my OC Lydia as un-Mary Sue as possible. And also to make it different, I made Lydia Hannah's much younger sister even though she is thirteen and Hannah is in her twenties. I know it's kind of weird but just try to overlook it.  
**_

"Lydia, dinner's on the table!" My sister yelled. I came trudging down the stairs in my socks, black sweatpants, grey singlet and brown jumper. I'd just had a shower. My long brown hair dripped as I walked. I then sat on the stool at the kitchen counter, eating the soup Hannah had provided. There was a knock at the door which made me jump. She stifled at laugh at my reaction, and then yelled out.

"I'm sorry I don't speak Icelandic," A man's voice replied from outside. I inclined my head to the door but quickly turned back to my soup as she opened it.

"Hi can I help you?" Hannah asked the visitor. "I'm Hannah," She introduced when there was no response from the stranger.

"Oh, how do you do? Hi, I'm Professor Anderson, visiting from America. Uh, this is-"

"I'm Sean," A different-sounding voice said.

"My nephew," The other person added.

"Hi, Sean. This is my younger sister, Lydia," Hannah motioned for me to come. I slumped off the seat and wrapped my arms around my torso because of the freezing wind blowing through the door. I took a glance at the two boys. One was older, he looked twenty-something *** I know Brendan Fraser's actually in his fourties but I'm pretending he's not so he can seem young enough for Hannah to date***, and had brown hair and brown eyes and his muscles sort of showed through his shirt. The other one looked about my age of thirteen, and had scruffy brown hair and brown eyes. He was definitely attractive. Distractingly attractive. I coughed deliberately when he met my glance and looked at the ground, feeling awkward.

"I was wondering," The older man said, "if I could speak to... Sigurbjorn Asgeirsson?" My sister and I exchanged frowns.

"Well, um... Sigurbjorn Asgeirsson is dead," Hannah reported sadly. I looked up at the strangers.

"Dead?" The younger guy said, surprised. I then spoke.

"Yes, he died three winters ago." I was quiet, but I was sure they heard me.

"Oh, um so do you run the institute?" The scientist man asked.

"Nobody does. There is no institute," Hannah said, confused.

"But there was a sign down the road that said –"

"Progressive volcanology was a failed idea," She explained, grimacing at the memory.

"Oh, I see. Uh, did you work with him?" The older man questioned. Hannah and I traded glances again.

"No, he was our father," I said. I had the feeling we were going to get to know these Americans from that moment on.

* * *

_**A/N: Well there's the first chapter. Review if you liked it. **_


	2. Hospitality

I listened to Hannah and Trevor's conversation about someone named ... was it Max Anderson? I think he was Trevor's brother and Sean's father.

"Your brother was a vernion," Hannah said, holding our father's book up to compare it to Max's copy.

"Wow," Sean said, "my dad was... out there."

"You didn't know him, Sean," Trevor argued.

"I'm starting to think you didn't either," Sean muttered, taking dad's book. After a while my sister spoke. I just sipped my hot chocolate.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm a scientist, I'm a professor. I'm here because there are seismic sensors and we think we should check into it. That's why we're here. Plain and simple," Trevor said. I raised my eyebrows.

"Okay," Hannah said, "you know there's no road up North. I'm a mountain guide, I –" I cleared my throat – "_We _can take you." She corrected herself.

"Thanks, that'd be great."

"No problem, Professor," Hannah said, putting dad's book away.

"Call me Trevor," he said.

"You can call me Sean," the boy added. I snorted. Sean looked at me sort of curiously. I shifted my eyes away from his slowly and gulped my hot chocolate, then choked when it burned my throat.

"Five thousand," Hannah told them the cost.

"A day, no problem," Trevor said.

"An hour," Hannah corrected.

"Do you accept rolls of quarters?" Sean asked. I smiled a little. He looked at me again with that same interested expression. I blinked twice, and he was looking at my sister again.

*

That night, Sean took my bed and I slept on the couch in the living room. Hannah lent Trevor her bed as she slept on a mattress on the floor next to my couch. They both tried to protest against the hospitality but Hannah wouldn't take no for an answer. Sean helped me make his bed. I got the feeling he was looking at me again. I felt awkward.

"Uh, I'll get you another blanket. It can get pretty cold up here some nights." He smiled at me warmly.

"Thanks."

"No problem," I sighed as I went to the cupboard and pulled out a huge quilt.

"So its Lydia isn't it?" Sean asked.

"Yep," I answered. I shook loose strands of my brown hair out of my face.

"So, what do you and Hannah normally do around here?" He asked as I handed him the other end of the quilt.

"Hannah's a mountain guide, as you found out before, so I go on errands with her."

"So you hike a lot?"

"You could say that," I shrugged as we threw the quilt up to spread it out. "Other times we're just stuck in here. It gets kind of boring though we do have a guitar. I've sort of been teaching myself to play it for years now." I tried not to sound boastful.

"When we get back I want to hear you play," Sean smiled.

"I'm not that good," I assured him quickly.

"I bet you are. Promise me you'll let me hear you play," urged Sean.

"Fine," I snapped.

"You get angry easily," he noted after a few seconds. I sighed.

"Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize," Sean frowned in confusion.

"Well what do you want me to do?" I demanded, a little perplexed myself.

"Nothing!" he said. I shook my head exasperation. After a moment, he asked,"Are you always like this?"

"Like what?"

"You know what I mean." He seemed to be smiling to himself.

"Do you want to sleep on the ground?" I offered irritably. To my surprise, his mouth spread into a smile.

"Touché," he laughed. I slumped my shoulders and then finally smiled and laughed along with him.

"You two sound like you're getting along," Trevor said suddenly from the doorway.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked. I didn't like it when people eavesdropped on my conversation.

"About two seconds now," he said accurately.

"Do you need a spare toothbrush?" I asked after a moment's silence.

"Oh, no that's okay," he said. "We're already taking your beds and a night not brushing won't hurt…" he trailed off because I had already grabbed a spare toothbrush from the bathroom cupboard. "Thanks," he smiled. "Sean's already brushed his teeth, I'm guessing?"

"Yep," Sean said.

"…alright then," he said awkwardly, "goodnight."

"Night," we said.

"I'm pretty tired so I'm going to bed," I told him.

"Are you sure you don't want your bed?" Sean and his uncle had an annoying habit of double checking.

"I'm sure. Goodnight," I said. He took off his shoes and got into the bed.

"Goodnight, Lydia," he replied quietly. I smiled and turned off the light.

* * *

_**A/N: Oooohh their relationship's blooming!! hahaha. Anyway I'm sorry if the character is boring to you. It took ages to figure her out and I'm still having trouble with it. **_


	3. The Hike

_**A/N: Funny story this - I was trying to post this chapter up and when I tried to find the story, IT WASNT IN MY DOCUMENTS. I was very angry and thought I'd lost the rest of the story, when dah dah-dah dah-daaaah... I found it! So here it in Lydia's POV.... even though it will be for the whole story.  
**_

I was awakened very early by my sister.

"Come on, Lyd. We have to go in half an hour," She said. She was all packed and dressed. I moaned.

"Why?" I mumbled, muffled by the pillow I'd brought for the couch.

"Because it's going to take a while to hike all the way up the mountain and then down again, so get packing." We didn't pack last night because one: we always left it last minute and two: we didn't get much time with all the talking and planning. I sighed and slowly got up off the couch.

Sean was out of my room, so it was safe to get dressed. I threw on some dark jeans and a three- quarter sleeve white shirt with a short-sleeved t-shirt over that and a big, puffy jacket for extra warmth. I didn't bother putting my hair up – it would be warmer if it were out anyway. I ran a hairbrush through it quickly and then I checked the mirror in the tiny bathroom. I didn't look much like Hannah; she had blue eyes and blonde hair with perfect teeth. Whereas I had light brown hair and blue-green eyes which were surrounded by medium length eyelashes. My teeth weren't the best either - a few were a little crooked but luckily, unnoticeably crooked. I was fairly tall and had a pale complexion.

I soon stopped "admiring" myself in the mirror and brushed my teeth. I always brushed my teeth for far too long. I've never known why, I just couldn't help it. Hannah always teased me when I'd brushed them for almost a minute and a half and I had a goaty-beard of toothpaste trickling down my chin. When my teeth were cleaned I put my hiking shoes and clomped down to the kitchen where Trevor and Sean sat, Hannah handing them bowls of cereal. I made my own porridge, and then sat on the floor eating it; the two stools were occupied by the boys.

"Hey, Lydia, sit here," Sean offered, getting off his chair. Well that was polite.

"No you're the guest," I said.

"Everyone packed?" Hannah asked us.

"Yes," I said. I'd packed just before I'd got dressed.

The boys grunted a yes and then we left the house.

Hannah and I were about ten metres in front of the boys as we walked up the mountain.

"Come on, boys," My sister encouraged, "we need to be home by sundown."

"They're gonna take all day," I complained at the boys' turtle pace.

"Just keep going," Hannah said.

"I think I'll wait for them," I decided. She nodded and walked on. The boys soon caught up to where I was standing. They stopped to rest for a minute. Sean stared after my sister. I exhaled and looked up at the sky – something I did when I felt awkward.

"Dibs," Sean said.

"What?" Trevor asked.

"I got dibs on the mountain guide," Sean told him. I scoffed and raised my eyebrows. Trevor frowned.

"You're thirteen."

"Sorry, called it," Sean said.

"Thirteen year olds don't get dibs," argued Trevor.

"Get over it!" Sean yelled over his shoulder.

"He's just trying to stir me up," Trevor said more to himself than to me.

"Alright," I said, unconvinced and then looked at where Hannah was walking, way ahead of us. "Hurry up, my sister's waiting. She's impatient; she'll charge you more." That made him go faster. We caught up with Hannah and Sean eventually.

"We're getting closer," Trevor said.

"Alright just watch your step there; Snaffles can be deceptively treacherous," Hannah informed.

"What's Snaffles?" Sean asked.

"It's the name of the mountain," I explained. "Where in the book, Lyden Brock – the character – apparently found a portal to the center of the earth." I shrugged.

"Let's just find that center of the earth first," Hannah said.

"Killjoy," I accused playfully.

"Hey," she said, half-heartedly, laughing. I smiled. This was usually how serious our arguments got.

Then we finally reached the top of the mountain. We all huddled around a little machine: a weird pointy thing sticking out of the ground.

"What do you do with it?" I asked as Trevor took something out of his jacket.

"We gotta unlock it, it has like a black box and it has recordings of all the seismic activities transpired in the last ten years. It'll tell me a lot about Max and what he was doing when he went missing."

"Trevor I'm really sorry but we're gonna have to go now," Hannah said, looking at the sky. I looked up too.

"Whoa," I said, noticing at the black storm clouds rolling in. Trevor paid no attention.

"Trevor we need to –" Hannah was cut off by a sudden fork of lightning and a rumble of thunder. I looked up again and lightning was flickering madly in the sky and the thunder was rumbling louder.

"Okay, let's take cover." Hannah pulled Sean and me into a section of the mountain that looked like it'd had a chunk carved out of it, making a roof for us.

"Come on, Trevor, just leave it alone," I called.

"I've almost got it," Trevor replied. The storm grew more vicious as Hannah, Sean and I grew more nervous at Trevor's position.

"Trevor, come on. We need to take cover now," Hannah called over her shoulder. He still wouldn't give up.

"Uncle Trevor!" Sean yelled.

"Get in here!" Trevor finally pulled out the sensor and shouted:

"Yes! Argh!" A lightning bolt had hit the ground right near where he stood. Then about five more hit as he ran to us with the pointy thing.

"TREVOR DROP THE SENSOR!" I cried.

"IT'S ATTRACTING THE LIGHTNING!" Hannah yelled.

"No!" Trevor said, narrowly dodging what would have been a fierce strike of lightning.

"HURRY UP!" We all yelled at the same time. Trevor finally gave up and threw it behind him where a bolt struck it and made it explode. Suddenly the lightning struck the rocks above us and the roof gave way. Hundreds of boulders fell to the ground, blocking our escape

* * *

_**A/N: Dum dum DUUUUUUM!!!! Sorry it's not very descriptive. Review please or I won't finish the story! Hah! What a threat. **_


	4. Schist

_**A/N: That cliffhanger lasted! Here's chapter four. **_

For a while I couldn't see anything. Then it became a bit more clear and I saw dark sillhouttes scattered around the cave. Suddenly I had a coughing fit at all the dust.

"Trevor? Trevor?" I heard my sister call. She shone the torch around and found him lying in the rocks. She helped him up.

"Lyd? Lydia is that you?" She asked at my coughing.

"Yep," I croaked.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said between coughs. Carefully, I got up. "Sean? Sean where are you?" I turned on my torch and shone it around the area until I found him half sitting near a few boulders. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm good," He grunted. I slowly helped him up and we joined the adults.

"Alright everyone just stays calm," Hannah said, shining the torch around.

"Guys, come on! You gotta help me dig!" Sean said, pulling at the huge rocks. We all clawed (in a figurative phrase) at the boulders for a while but nothing happened - they were too heavy. I shone the torch at Hannah and spoke to her.

"Forget it; it's no use," I said.

"Forget it?!" Sean said.

"Lydia's right; we're under sixty tones of boulders. It'll take us about a month to dig out of here," Trevor estimated exasperatedly.

"We're gonna have to find another way," I said.

"What if there is no other way?" Sean asked, truly panicking now.

"There's always another way, Sean," Hannah soothed, digging through the backpack. She pulled out some head torches and I pulled out my own from my bag.

"What else have you got in there?" Trevor asked my sister.

"Signal flares first aid, some rope, blankets, and a couple of protein bars. But we don't want to rush them now; we don't know how long we'll be trapped for."

"Trapped? Is that what we are?" Sean asked frantically, putting the head torch on.

"No, Sean. She didn't mean- what are you doing?" He asked his nephew, who was pulling out a cell phone, he dialed a number.

"I'm not getting any service!" He cried.

"You won't get any signal down here," I told him; I grabbed the phone and shut it.

"Don't worry, alright? We're gonna find another way out," Trevor calmed him. We all shone the torches around.

"There are two openings there- they might lead us back," I said, pointing the torch at them.

"How do we know which one to take?" Sean said, his voice squeaking a little. Trevor thought for a little.

"My gut says we go right." He walked toward the gap and we followed. We walked into a little corridor with walls of rock, shining the torches on every part of the walls. "Ah. This looks promising," Trevor said. "Just keep walking; we'll be out of here in no time." I walked next to Sean, tripping over mine and his feet every few seconds; I was a bit of a klutz in the dark. "Don't worry," Trevor continued, "direction is my sixth sense. See Sean? It's alright. Just like doing fieldwork. I used to love doing fieldwork…" Suddenly Hannah gasped and screamed:

"WATCH OUT!" She held him from behind. She then pulled him back and they both panted like dogs.

"You're not studying rocks in the lab, professor. This is life or death here," He nodded.

"Okay, thanks," She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"You owe me one." Sean and I stepped out from behind. I then saw a shape in the dust. I knelt down and dusted it off and picked up and metal rectangle. The other three noticed what I held.

"What's it say?" Trevor asked.

"Arkon gabrenna. That means um, keep out," I said. Hannah nodded.

"Maybe that's some decent advice," Sean said nervously.

"No, no. This could be great news. This could lead us to an old mine shaft which could be our way out," Hannah replied, taking her jacket off. I mimicked; it was getting a little stuffy.

"How deep do you think it is?" asked Sean.

"Hannah, give me one of those flares," Trevor said. Hannah unzipped the bag and passed the flare to him. "Okay Sean. Look at your watch," Sean did as he was told, "I'm gonna drop this flare, and you tell me how many seconds pass before it stops." Sean nodded, taking his eyes off mine and onto the watch. Trevor lit the flare. "Ready? Three, two –"BOOM! It exploded and we all fell back. Hannah underneath Trevor, and me on top of Sean. We quickly got up, me feeling a bit flustered.

"What was_ that_?" I asked. Trevor touched the walls for a moment.

"Magnesium," He said, in an as-a-matter-of-factly tone.

"Magnesium is kind of flammable isn't it, professor?" Hannah asked. He nodded. "How about this?" She pulled out a glowstick from my bag and snapped it.

"Thanks," He said. "Okay. Three, two…" He dropped it. Sean counted slowly.

"Almost three," Sean said.

"So that's about… two hundred feet," Trevor calculated, "which is about your basic twenty storey high rise. Got enough rope?" He asked my sister.

"I always have enough rope," She snorted. She unzipped the bag and handed it to him.

"Enough rope for what?" asked Sean anxiously.

"For going down there," I told him.

"We're gonna be going down that deep dark hole?" Sean asked in disbelief.

"What, do you have a problem with that?" Trevor asked. Sean scoffed. "What's the matter?"

"There's no way we should be repelling down there."

"What are you talking about? You're man enough to call dibs on the mountain guide but not man enough to climb down a little piece of rope and –"

"Guys," Hannah cut in, "no one gets dibs on the mountain guide. We're going down there."

We all strapped in with rope and harnesses. Trevor, who went first, shuffled his way slowly downward.

"Remember we're all connected," My sister reminded. She tightened up Sean's harness and then she and I helped him down. "Okay Sean. We're gonna start lowering you down," She told him.

"Just lean back, and keep your feet up high," I advised. He gave a nervous smile at me. The corner of my mouth twitched, which seemed to be a tiny smile back at him. He took a few steps. I nodded in encouragement. Then he awkwardly shuffled down, breathing hard. "Just keep walking," I called.

"Hey, looking pretty good, Sean," Trevor said, "Sure you haven't done this before?"

"Shut up," Sean snapped through gritted teeth. Loose rocks crumbled under his feet, some of them almost hitting his uncle.

"Hey watch it," Trevor called.

"I'm hanging off the edge of my life here," He yelled. I sighed and quickly slid down next to the struggling boy.

"It's okay, Sean. Just make conversation with me," I encouraged.

"Uh… so Lydia, do you come here often?" He asked feebly. I smiled.

"Is that the best line you can come up with?" Trevor asked. Sean's cheeks darkened.

"I'm making conversation with her!" He yelled back. I laughed.

"No, Sean. I don't come here very often," I chortled. I felt Hannah coming down not far behind us. We all climbed our way down slowly.

"Hey, looks at all this schist," Trevor said, touching the walls.

"What?"

"Metamorphic rock. Green schist, carnage schist," Trevor named the rocks.

"Oh. Schist," Sean said. I smiled to myself.

"It's everywhere-look at it! It's- ARGH!" Suddenly Trevor had slipped and fell, jerking us off the wall and causing us to hang there. We all screamed and searched for something to hold onto. Sean had evidently chosen my hand without realizing.

"Trevor your rope is caught on mine. If we're going to get down I'm going to have to cut you loose," Hannah said, reaching around for her pocket knife.

"WHAT?! NO! ARGH!" Trevor screamed as he fell about five centimeters. Sean and I laughed as we drifted back to the ground, still hand in hand. My eyes flickered to our intertwined fingers and then I cleared my throat and he released my hand. Sean's cheeks seem to darken in colour.

"Hey Hannah you knew the bottom was down here, right?" Trevor asked. My sister didn't answer. "Hannah?" When she still said nothing, I smiled at him patronizingly.

"Of course."

* * *

_**A/N: Review if you liked! **_


	5. Carts, Diamonds and Muscovite

Sean wandered around, his torch in his hand.

"Hey guys, what's this?" He asked. His torch was shining on a dusty door looking thing.

"It's the mine. It was shut down sixty years ago because of the big disaster," Hannah said, pointing at it with her torch as well. I made my way over to them.

"Disaster? How big?" Sean asked.

"Eighty-one dead," Hannah said.

"That's pretty big," Trevor noted. Hannah led the way, Trevor following her and Sean and me next to each other.

"Hey, Trevor was there a mine like this in the book?" asked Sean as we walked.

"No," His uncle replied. "I don't think so." After a while he asked Hannah and I: "Hey, do you guys wonder if your father and my brother had been right?" Oh dear - he'd just set Hannah off.

"Let me make something clear to you," Hannah said rather coldly, "We… are not our father. And the world that he belonged to has nothing to do with us." Her words were slow and distinct. I got the urge to say something like: "speaking for yourself there much?" but didn't.

"Of course, I didn't mean –"

"You know she's still charging you?" I asked quickly, trying to Band-Aid the situation.

"You're still billing me?" Trevor asked in disbelief.

"I bill you until my sister and I are safe in our house." I walked away from the bickering adults. Suddenly I saw something in the distance. It looked like a giant cog. I walked toward it.

"Hey what are you doing?" Sean called behind me.

"Look," I said, shining my torch on it.

"It's the old generator for the mine," Hannah said, holding one of the handles.

"Hey you don't want to touch that," Trevor said quickly.

"I think I do." My sister turned on a few switches whilst Trevor protested. Soon enough, lights turned on everywhere.

"Okay I take it back," Trevor laughed. I inclined my head and saw lots of little carts on tracks.

"This is it, right?" Sean said, "I mean, the miners had to put their stuff somewhere – these tracks could lead us out."

"Hey how many miners got out?" Trevor said.

"Uh, one." Hannah said.

"Oh," I said shortly. Sean grinned.

"Well that's a start. I call front," He ran toward the first cart.

"Hey Sean we don't know if these things work, they're not safe, the track could be unstable –" Trevor was cut off by my sister wheeling toward Sean's cart. She pushed it into the back of his.

"Track ahead looks good," She said cheerfully. "Get in."

"Okay Lydia you'll have to get in with Sean since you won't fit with me," Trevor said.

"Alright," I said. I could see Sean smiling. I got in and held his waist, as told.

"This isn't funny," I said irritably.

"I know," he sniggered.

"What?" I demanded.

"You look terrified."

"Do I?" I said through gritted teeth. Hannah pushed us out and then we were off. We were going fast and I was freaked out. I whimpered and tightened my grip on the boy I barely knew.

"Sean does it look safe?" Trevor asked from behind us.

"I think I see something," He called back.

"Please tell me its daylight otherwise I don't want to know."

"Uh – uh it's not daylight I think it's – oh we're in deep schist." I braced myself. We were suddenly plummeting down a steep hill. I screamed and held onto Sean so tight I was surprised he could still breathe. Trevor and his nephew screamed with me, holding on tight as they could.

"HOW COME THEY DON'T HAVE SEATBELTS ON THIS THING?" Sean said.

"YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT _SEATBELTS?!" _I panicked when I saw the huge gap in the track.

"HANNAH!" I yelled.

"I KNOW!"

"PULL THE BRAKE! PULL IT!" Trevor screamed.

"NO, WE WON'T MAKE IT!" She replied.

"HOLD ON!" Sean yelled at me. I tightened my grip even more and then screamed as we flew off the track. We bounced as we suddenly landed back on it. Then the track split into three different trails.

"Hang on guys!" Trevor shouted as we all zoomed in different directions. I screamed and screamed as we rode down the steep hills and Sean laughed with delight.

"Weeeeee!" Sean giggled like a little girl. "Hey, that reminds me of a joke –"

"Shut up!" I screeched. We finally pulled up next to Hannah and Trevor who were lying on the ground, breathless.

"That… was… awesome!" Sean said, getting out. I collapsed into the seat, panting and trying to slow my heart rate. "What happened to you guys?" He asked.

"Don't. Ask." Trevor said, groaning. I was still trying to stop my head from spinning in the cart.

"Need some help?" Sean asked, grinning. I didn't say anything so he took my hand and helped me stand up slowly. Then he held my waist and pulled me back down to him.

"Thanks," I muttered, dazed. He was suddenly distracted as he looked over his shoulder. He walked towards whatever he was looking at.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Hey don't go in there," Trevor grunted, trying to get up. I slowly followed Sean. He was standing at a small opening. He then went through. I looked at my sister and Trevor who were getting up behind me, and then climbed through as well. We were now in a cave full of gems embedded into the walls.

"Hey guys, check it out," He said, touching a large ruby. "Rubies."

"Emeralds," I said, pointing at a green gemstone with the torch.

"Feldspar," Trevor said.

"Uh, guys? There's more," Sean said, shining his torch over at a hundred more diamonds.

"No way," I said, picking one up and examining it with my torch.

"Crystals are frequently formed," Trevor recited, "And found in… volcanic tubes!"

"This tube could take us back up, right?" I asked him.

"Uh huh," He replied.

"We're not far from the surface," Hannah said.

"When I get out, I'm getting a mazzerati **(?)**," Sean said to me as he picked up a diamond. I half-smiled.

"You know money doesn't always matter Sean. People matter too," Trevor said distantly. Sean put the diamond in his bag.

"Not if you have mazzerati."I heard a small cracking noise.

"Did you guys hear that?" Sean asked.

"Nobody move," Trevor said immediately. I did as I was told. Hannah knelt to the ground very slowly.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is," She said.

"Muscovite," Trevor squeaked.

"Oh," Hannah gasped.

"What's Muscovite?" Sean asked.

"Muscovite is a very thin type of rock formation," Hannah explained.

"How thin?" Sean asked nervously.

"So thin that the slightest change of weight or pressure can cause it to shatter," Trevor said. "And we're standing on a lot of it."

"Well…that's problematic," I said, pointing out the obvious in my Icelandic accent.

Sean took a slow and balanced step. The cracking noises continued. "Stop," I told him. He did as I said and kept still. "What should we do?" I asked my sister.

"Um… okay we need to walk back the way we came very calmly. Heel toe. Lydia, Sean – you go first." Sean and I walked very steadily and slowly, heel, toe as told. I slowly helped him put on his backpack. Suddenly, a large diamond fell out and headed for the Muscovite.

"No!" We all shouted. The diamond fell to the ground, creating a series of cracks in a circle around it. We all held our breath and then sighed when nothing happened.

"It's actually thicker than I thought," Trevor said, relieved. CRACK.

"AAAAAAARGGHHHHH!" We all screamed as fell down into blackness. Then the screaming stopped for a moment.

"WE'RE STILL FALLING!" And the screaming continued. We all drifted toward each other and then grabbed hands. Sean and Hannah held mine and Trevor held onto Hannah.

"TREVOR WHAT'S AT THE BOTTOM?" Sean asked as we fell to our death.

"IF VERNE WAS RIGHT THIS HOLE COULD GO FOR HUNDREDS OF MILES."

"VERNE WAS _NOT _RIGHT," Hannah protested.

"TREVOR FINISH, WHAT'S AT THE BOTTOM?" I said.

"IT MOST LIKELY JUST ENDS."

"ENDS?! GOT ANY OTHER THEORIES?" Sean said.

"WELL, THE WALLS OF THIS TUNNEL COULD HAVE ERODED WITH WATER WHICH STILL RUNS PROVIDING A GRADUAL BREAK THROUGH OUR FALL… KIND OF LIKE A WATER SLIDE." Trevor yelled.

"WATER SLIDE… OKAY THAT'S A THEORY," I said.

"BUT TREVOR THE LEVERAGE OF WATER IS POINTING STRAIGHT UP AT US! WE COULD BE SKEWERED ***If that's what she said?* **!" Hannah screamed out.

"THAT IS ALSO POSSIBLE."

"AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!" We all screamed again. I felt a droplet of water touch my face. I wiped it off with my hand.

"IS THAT WATER?!" Hannah asked.

"YES, WATER." Trevor shouted. Sean then repeated water slide over and over.

"HERE IT COMES! HANG ON!" We grabbed hands again and braced ourselves.

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_**A/N: Lots of shouting. Review! **_


	6. Down the Water Slide and into The Center

It turned out that it was like a water slide and the four of us slid down into the deep, cold water. I saw Sean, Trevor and Hannah swimming with the loaded backpacks. I swam toward the closest to me which happened to be Trevor. Just when I thought I was going to run out of oxygen, I pushed my head out of the water.

"We didn't get skewered!" I said to Trevor as we tread-watered. I swam to the land and collapsed onto the rocks, panting like anything. Soon Sean burst out of the water and we helped him back to land. We all sat, panting. "Where's... Hannah?" I asked, noticing she wasn't there.

"Hannah!" Trevor yelled and then jumped into the water like some life-saver. I huffed, glaring into the water.

"Don't like Trevor?" Sean guessed breathlessly.

"No, it's just…" I panted, "he's acting like he's... meant for my sister or something. He barely knows her and... he thinks he can just come onto her. I know I sound bad with him jumping into the water to save her and all but still..."

"No, no. Uncle Trevor isn't like that," Sean said, "It's just a little crush," he explained. He seemed to look down as he said the last word.

"Okay," I said, a little more reassured. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"Yep," he said, "you?"

"Yes." Suddenly Trevor burst out of the water with my sister.

"My backpack was too… heavy," she panted. We pulled them back onto the rocks and we all lay on our backs, feeling exhausted. Hannah then frowned at the ceiling.

"Are they stars?"

"No, it's just the cave ceiling," Trevor said.

"Is it just me or is the cave ceiling… moving?" Sean asked.

"Yeah," Trevor said, frowning. "It does look like it, doesn't it?" His words were slow and a little uncertain. We all slowly stood up, and then in a flurry, the 'stars' started moving down to us.

"They're… birds," Sean said. "Electric birds?"

"They look like Syannas Rozoptrex. The bio-luminescent. They're like fire flies or glowworms. It's incredible." The rest of the flock flew away except for one, which stayed near Sean and me.

"Have you seen these things before?" I asked Trevor.

"Yeah, in the museum where they were fossilized – these things have been extinct for over a hundred and fifty million years." The flocks flew back to us again and then back through a tunnel. We followed them and ended up in a whole other place. It was like an enormous cave with big rays of light shining down. There was a beautiful water fall and the glow birds swarmed around it. Around the water fall there was large rock which we stood on.

"Ladies and gentleman, I give you the center of the earth," Trevor murmured as we all stared in amazement. "Max was right! He was right! Max was RIGHT!" He yelled in triumph.

"Lydia, your dad was right too," Sean said, smiling at me. I smiled back and then glanced at my sister. She didn't look too happy.

"They believed something that everyone told them was impossible. HE WAS RIGHT!" Trevor shouted shiningly.

"We get it," I laughed.

"What's that light up there?" Sean asked.

"I can't tell. It must be some sort of luminescent gas combination…?"

"It's like a… terrarium." I said as I stared around the magnificent sight.

"Yes, a terrarium under the crust of the earth," Trevor agreed in wonder. "A world within the world." We were then exploring the beautiful jungle within the earth, Trevor reading out the description in the book.

"It's exactly the same thing Lyden Brock wrote."

"Are you saying that Lyden Brock, the character, was real?" Hannah asked in skeptically.

"Someone came down here, someone saw all this, someone got out and told Verne," Trevor shrugged.

"Someone got out?" Sean repeated, "That's the best thing I've heard all day!"

"Doesn't this completely blow your mind?" We walked over to some giant poofy dandelions. I blew on them and little fluffy umbrellas drifted away from us. I smiled and giggled to myself.

"My mind is blown, yes," Hannah said. We began exploring again, near some _huge_ mushrooms. Sean and I glanced at each other every now and again, and then back to the world we had no idea existed.

"Enormous fossilized mushrooms," Trevor said.

"Sorta like humongous fungus?" Sean asked. I laughed even though it was the worst joke in the world. Trevor showed us the mirror image picture in the book and then our eyes turned to the real mushrooms.

"Does this mean everything in the book is real?" Hannah asked.

"Probably."

"All the really dangerous parts?" she asked. My stomach dropped.

"I was just thinking about that, too." I gulped at Trevor's words.

"Right." Something rumbled in the distance.

"Trevor come quick," Sean called.

"Sean?" Hannah, Trevor and I said. We made our way swiftly through the mushroom field and over the Sean. He stood in front of a large twisted tree. He took a few steps toward it and we followed.

"I'm going in," He said.

"Yeah, wait up," Trevor sounded a little distant. Sean climbed into the tree as Trevor followed. I was a little torn. My sister was behind us and Sean was in the tree. I decided to follow Hannah.

"Hannah?" She turned around. "Hannah what's the matter?" I asked.

"I always thought Dad was crazy… and now… now that I've seen what he was going on about…" She trailed off. I sat next to her on a log.

"I know, I feel the same. But I know this is kind of overwhelming and frightening, but just try to enjoy it, for now while it's lasting. I mean, how often is it that you get to go to the center of the earth? Trust me, Hannah. It'll be okay." She smiled and helped me up. We walked back.

"Look," Hannah said, pointing to a cylinder shaped object hanging off a tree branch. We sauntered over to it and wiped off the dust and mud.

"Oh," I murmured, looking at the one word written in black pen in capitals: **MAX **

"Come on," Hannah muttered. We walked through the undergrowth for a few minutes, and then I stopped after stepping on a hard something. I knelt down and picked up the gray torch. There was a label on it: **M. ANDERSON. **

"Oh," Hannah said this time. We crawled over the dirt on the ground, and then felt what seemed like an edge. We looked down, and saw a huge, never ending trench. We then shared the same sad expression at the next sight.

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**_A/N: *sing song voice* Reviews, reviews, I love reviews! Also feel free to give ideas for the story :)_**


	7. The Journal Entry

**_A/N: Back with chapter six. Enjoy it! _**

"Trevor?" Hannah called. "Go inside with Sean," She whispered to me. I nodded and went into the tree/house.

"Hey," He said distantly.

"Hi." I could hear the sadness in my voice.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Sean, I'm so sorry," I said sympathetically.

"W-what is it?" He asked. I took his hand, and lead him down the beach. "Lydia, what?" I didn't say anything. I lead him to a pile of rocks chucked onto the sand - well, more precisely, Max's body. Hannah and Trevor were there as well. Trevor put his hand on Sean's shoulder. Hannah kissed him on the head. I gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

"I never really… got a chance to know him." His voice shook a little, and I could see his brown eyes glistening with tears. "I mean, I wish I did." I got a severely strong urge to hug him, but resisted.

"He wrote something, and I want you to hear it," Trevor said, pulling out a little journal. I bit back tears myself.

"August fourteen, 1997. Today was Sean's third birthday. Six weeks ago I promised myself I would be home to give him his first baseball glove. Now I'm worried that I'll never get the chance. I set out to make an incredible discovery to share here with Trevor and the world, but now, I would trade it all just to watch you grow up, to be the brave and certain man I know you will become. Happy birthday, Sean. I love you, Daddy."

I wept a little as I looked at Sean and a tear ran down his cheek as Trevor sobbed the last word. "Goodbye, Max." Trevor's voice shook now. He gave his nephew a hug as he cried into his uncle's shirt. Hannah embraced me gently as we cried as well.

We all soon walked back to the tree house. Sean lay in the hammock, staring up at the ceiling while I stared at the ground.

"According to Max's journal," Trevor said, "We're here. Surrounded by lava –"

"Well that's comforting," I said sarcastically with false brightness.

- "During periods of intense seismic activity." There was a rumble and a shake. "The magma that surrounds us turns into like a big oven."

"Is that what happened to my dad?" Sean asked, sitting up in the hammock. He got out and walked over to the table.

"Look I know we're just kids but Lyd and I can handle this." The new nickname caught my attention. I glanced at Sean and then back at the adults. I nodded slowly in agreement.

"Guys," Trevor said as we sat down with them. "Max was planning an escape."

"His notes here say that temperatures down here reach up to about two hundred degrees," Hannah added.

"A human being can't survive up to about one hundred and thirty-five."

"It's already ninety- five degrees." Sean held up the thermometer.

"It was eighty-two when we got here – the temperature's rising fast," Trevor said.

"So what do we do?" I asked.

"I saw we follow Max's plan."

"Here's what he wrote: my analysis of the original Verne text leads me to believe that across the ocean due north my current position is a geyser- like river which might lead me back up to the surface," Hannah said as she showed us the notebook.

"So we just have to get across the ocean, find the geyser and just hitch ride topside?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Topside sounds good," Sean chimed in.

"It's a little trickier than that – it could get so hot down here that all the water could just evaporate," Trevor corrected.

"How much time do we have?" His nephew asked.

"Forty-eight hours. Seventy-two tops." _Rumble, shudder. _"Probably less," He added.

"Okay so the question is: what the fastest way to get across the ocean?" Hannah asked. They discussed options, and then scratched them again. Sean and I glanced at each other. Then he picked up the book and laid it out for everyone to see.

"It's all in the book."

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**_A/N: I know it's all word-for-word from the movie but that's because I hadn't watched it in ages so whilst writing I watched it, paused it, and then wrote what was said. If I just tried to remember, I wouldn't because I can't even remember five minutes ago hahaha. _**


	8. Building the Raft

_**A/N: Crap! I haven't been doing a disclaimer! OK, I don't own Journey to the Center of the Earth. Just Lydia. **_

"Ouch," I said as a sharp twig dug into my leg. I checked to see if there was any blood. Just a little. I'll be okay, I thought.

"Lyd can you hand me that branch you've got there?" Hannah asked. I nodded and heaved it up. It scratched my hand deeply this time and I gasped loudly. Sean dropped his branch, and came over to me.

"Go away," I muttered to him.

"You hurt yourself," he said.

"It's just a scratch." I scowled though I was only being rude because I was flustered at how much he seemed to care. I held out my hand. He scoffed.

"You sure?" He held my wrist and pushed it lightly back to me so I could look at it. It was a deep cut, a jagged line with dark red blood seeping out. I winced and I hid my hand behind my back so he couldn't see it anymore.

"Go get it cleaned up. I got this covered." He gestured to my branch which he was now half holding. I frowned.

"You're impossible, aren't you?" He chuckled. I went over to Hannah.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I cut myself," I told her. I showed her my hand. She winced and then quickly retrieved a small bandage from her backpack and wrapped it around my hand. I went back to Sean to help him with the branch he'd told me to leave.

I had to say it kind of weird being in mini shorts and a t-shirt (I'd ditched the jeans because of the heat and retrieved a pair of mini pants that cut off at the middle of my thigh - I still had them in my bag from one time which I couldn't remember and I'd simply stripped off in the treehouse privately, leaving the long-sleeve on the wooden table). I felt really revealed. You could say see through. I lived in Iceland, so I hardly wore summer clothes. Hannah had tied my hair in a braid just before we started building the raft and it was starting to fall out. I was close to just yanking out the hair tie, but I remembered I would regret that in the next heat wave.

The raft was almost finished now. Just a couple branches to add, and then, away we go. Sean and I then realized we were ravenous. We ended up having to eat… I actually had no idea what it was, but all I knew, it was putrid. I took one look at it and wrinkled my nose. The smell of it was even worse. I decided I wasn't going to be able to eat a lot the next few hours so I just grit my teeth and ate it. Almost vomiting on the first swallow. Sean gagged as he took a spoonful of it. We eventually got through the whole thing without throwing up, but it was definitely a close call.

"Don't we need to set our mast?" Sean asked his uncle a while later as we tied last minute knots.

"Nope. Don't need it."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"The wind that we want is way up there," Trevor replied, pointing to the sky. "Thermal. It's a lot faster than what we got down here." Sean and I then cut a few loose ends.

"Very good, guys." I smiled and began to walk back to Hannah.

"You alright?" I asked. She nodded.

"You?"

"Yes." It was silent for a moment.

"Are we nearly done?" I asked. Hannah smiled.

"Yes. We just need the sail and then away we go." I smiled too. Sean and Trevor stood at the front of the raft where Hannah and I helped them tie the sail. It shot up as the wind tugged it violently. We all grinned in triumph. Hannah and I stood at the back of the raft and then the wind pulled it off the sand. Trevor and his nephew quickly jumped on and we were already sailing.

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_**A/N: Yes! I finally found the image for Lydia. It's what I imagined her to look like. Just make her hair darker and her eyes blue-green and it's perfect! Just go onto my profile and it should be there**_.


	9. Sailing

_**Disclaimer: Journey to the Center of the Earth - not mine. **_

_**A/N: Chapter nine!**_

__"It's just a little storm, ain't no big deal!" Trevor yelled in assurance as the waves chopped, sea water spraying everywhere. It was _pouring _down rain and the sky was a blackish purple color with the frequent exception of fork- shaped lightening which flashed through the sky, brightening it all up for half a second. The thunder rumbled on and on like a thousand slamming doors. Hannah moved toward the side of the boat, drenched by the freezing rain.

"There's something moving down there!"

"Probably just plankton! Same thing we saw back at the beach!" Trevor replied in a bellow. Sean leaned over one side.

"I don't know it looks kinda big for plankton!"

"Sean, we're not at Sea World, so just back up a little!" ordered Trevor.

"I think it's some sort of fish!" yelled Sean, shaking out his hair. He suddenly jumped back. I then saw the reason for his sudden movement and yelled out in fright. It was a huge fish. Silvery with giant, wide translucent eyes and teeth like knives. It had leapt out at Sean and when he jumped out of the way it went straight for Trevor. He wrestled with it until he finally kicked it off. Soon fish everywhere were jumping out of the water, trying to take a chunk out of us.

"They're everywhere!" Sean yelled.

"Sean I told you we'd get to the batting cage!" Trevor shouted back, pulling out two large sticks. They then whacked every fish that leapt out at us, smashing them right out to sea. I noticed one headed for Sean. Instinctively, I picked up a stick and whacked it. Hannah mimicked, and we were all whacking fish away from each other. Then I heard something beeping… a phone?

"Do you hear something?" Hannah asked. Sean pulled a cell phone out of his pocket.

"Hello? Mom? Mom, I can't hear you...uh, Uncle Trevor and I are… sorta on a…a fishing trip… and uh…uh…uhm…" I followed his gaze and scowled when it was at my sister's butt. I then did a double take and saw a huge fish, mouth gaping open at Hannah's behind. Before I could do anything, Trevor had picked it up and whacked it. "Uh… Uncle Trevor just caught a really big one… and…" All of a sudden, a fish had leapt out and caught it with its mouth. "My phone!"

"Sean?" I said, pointing to the massive thing moving behind him.

"I got it – Argh!" An enormous snake-like thing had burst out of the water and jumped onto the raft. Its jaws snapped at Sean. Wait, no. The fish at his feet. It snagged it and crept back into the sea. Soon enough there was more of them.

"Look! They don't want us they want the fish!" Trevor yelled us we huddled together in the center of the raft. "Sean, Lydia you take the tailor, we'll take the front. Hannah, hold the slack!" He bellowed. Sean and I went to the back while the two adults were at the front. Trevor then told us something not either of us understood.

"What?" We said together.

"THAT WAY!" We turned the rudder, and we started going left. "Now, Hannah, just let it out gently, gently." He said to Hannah, who held the rope.

"It's working!" I shouted, grinning.

"You're the man, uncle Trev!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell the scientific community for years!" Sean and I laughed but then quickly stopped as the sail was jerked forward. Hannah suddenly fell back.

"Hannah!" Trevor yelled, coming to the back of the boat where my sister lay.

"Are you okay?" I yelled to her but I didn't think she'd heard me. She yelped as Trevor pulled her back to her feet. I got a glimpse of her bleeding hands and winced. Trevor continued to help the struggling woman as Sean and I ran toward the front to catch the sail. We pulled and pulled at the sail. Both of us screamed "NO!" when it snapped off. We were jerked up.

"SEAN! LYDIA!" The adults yelled out our names.

"TREVOR! HANNAH!" We called back.

"NO!" Hannah yelled. "LYDIA!"

"HANG ON! DON'T LET GO!" Trevor cried out to us.

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_**A/N: The kids are in deep schist now! (using a cheesy pun) Review please. **_


	10. Washed Up

_**A/N: I'm sorry, I know it's been a month since I've updated but I've been busy. I had heaps of school work to finish and was busy with my other stories. I was supposed to update on the weekend, but my aunty came back from England, and we stayed with my relatives until Sunday afternoon. The rest of the time I just couldn't be bothered to get on fanfiction and copy and paste a few things (I wrote this story a few months ago and it's all written and finished) **_

_**I'll stop boring you with excuses now. **_

_**Disclaimer: JCE isn't mine... shame, that because I sure would like to have Josh Hutcherson :)**_

_**---**_

I'd just woken up and immediately remembered our little scenario. I started to get up, but then gasped and fell back down. I looked at my leg. Down my calf was a huge gash with blood trickling out of it. How'd that happen? I'd been unconscious for god knows how long. I crawled around in the sand. "Sean?" I yelled every now and again. I suddenly slipped and my bleeding leg smacked onto the sand. I let out a gasp of agony. I looked at my leg. Luckily, only a few grains of sand were stuck in it. I blew it off and then very slowly got up. "Sean?" I yelled out once again. I limped slowly up and down the beach. Soon I went into the rain forest-like area behind the shore. I walked around, looking for nothing in particular. My leg was really searing, but I was trying to ignore it. Suddenly I tripped over a massive and seemingly invisible tree root. I cried out in pain as I fell onto my back. I wheezed, shut my eyes and tried to be my breath back. I was winded. It was a terrifying feeling, not being able to breathe. Eventually I regained oxygen but didn't bother getting up. My back hurt too much. The forest floor was a little muddy but was covered with leaves. Fresh dew drops hung off the trees and dropped gently onto my face every now and then. I just lay on the ground, moaning with my eyes shut.

"Lydia?" I heard someone call. My eyes snapped open.

It was Sean.

"Lyd?" He yelled.

"SEAN!" I yelled back.

"Lyd? Lydia is that you?"

"Yes!" I cried, happier than ever. I heard his footsteps speed up. It sounded like he was jogging in my direction. Soon a sweaty, bloody, dirt-covered Sean Anderson was standing above me. He beamed when he saw me and I returned it. Then his smile faded a little.

"What have you done to yourself?" He frowned, looking at my leg.

"Oh. Um, I don't know," I answered honestly. He chuckled and stepped closer to me. All of a sudden his arm was around my waist and had gently pulled my own arm around his shoulder. Sean helped me limp out of the undergrowth.

"You never stop, do you?" I muttered.

"Nope," he laughed.

"Thank you," I said.

"Don't mention it. I'm so glad I found you. I was beginning to think you were dead or something. That really would have sucked. I'd really miss –" He suddenly stopped talking and his cheeks flushed and his brown eyes flickered toward the ground, as though he'd said too much.

"You'd miss me?" I finished.

"Yeah," He mumbled.

"Well I'd miss you too," I admitted.

"Are you thirsty?" He asked after a moment's silence.

"Yes." He took me over a large wall made out of rock with water streaming off it. I cupped my hands and gulped the water.

"Thank you," I said again. "Really, you've been very good to me. I owe you."

He smiled. His eyes then trailed over to my leg. I took some water and splashed it on there. Some of the blood washed off, but not much. I went to open my backpack, but then realized I'd given it to Hannah. Suddenly Sean started ripping the bottom of his shirt.

"Hey, what are you doing? No, don't do that –" I protested.

"Shut up," Sean said, holding the piece of material.

"I could've used my own shirt," I pointed out.

"Too late," Sean said as he slowly wrapped it around my leg.

"I can do this myself, you know," I stated as his hands wound round my calf.

"Too late," he repeated simply. He seemed to take forever with the bandaging. Maybe because he was trying to be gentle.

"Thanks again," I said. Sean helped me stand up and then he took a quick look around.

"Okay, let's go."

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**_A/N: Sean's so lovely :) I hate the fact he's not real -_- _**

**_Review. _**


	11. Rocks of Death

_**A/N: Hello to the probably 8 people who have given up on this story. I am very very very very, times a hundred very, sorry. I started another story, and this one wasn't doing all that well so hence my abandonement. **_

_**But I have good news! This chapter is fairly long, so you won't be as annoyed. I know**_** I **_**get angry when a person who hasn't updated since I was born finally posts a chapter, and it's an author's note or a five second chapter. Anyway enjoy the long awaited chapter. **_

**Disclaimer: This belongs to that guy who wrote the book and the people who made the movie (I really know my stuff today) **

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We slowly stood up and Sean took out his compass.

"South," he read, "that's good. The river's North." Just then, the glowing bird had twittered and flew over to us. It then zoomed off into a huge cave. We quickly followed it, even with my limp. It took us to an enormous landscape with rocky ground. We walked across it hand in sweaty hand. Suddenly Sean tripped.

"Are you okay?" I asked. He said nothing. He seemed to be staring at something. My eyes suddenly widened when I saw his pocket knife floating in mid-air. I reached out and pulled it back. After helping him up, I handed it to him. He let go of it for a few seconds, experimenting, and then pulled it back again.

"I get it," he said slowly. "It's a magnetic field." Then we started jogging across the rocky land, me limping along, trying to catch up with him. Suddenly he stepped on the ground and it disappeared from underneath him. We stared down at the never ending glow of blue. Our heads then slowly looked up. My jaw dropped. Ahead of us there was giant rocks floating in mid air like stepping stones all leading to a strange light on the other side.

"No way," I said. "Magnetic rocks?" We took a few steps closer and looked down. I think both of us nearly fainted.

"No," I said instantly.

"It's the only way we can get to the river," Sean murmured. "If you want, I'll go first." I considered it, but then thought about the floating rocks.

"No. Once you go across they might not join up again the same way."

"Okay, we'll go together," He decided. "I'll go in front, you follow." I nodded very slowly. He turned to face the rocks, his hand still in mine. Then Sean turned back to me.

"Um, in case, I die," He squeaked, and my stomach did a backflip. "I have something I want to tell you."

"Hurry up," I said hoarsely, wanting to get across the death rocks as quick as possible. He took a breath. Then the words he wanted to say tumbled out of his mouth very quickly.

"Lydia I think you're really pretty and funny and smart and… kind of weird, but then again, that's a contributing factor–and I really, _really_ like you. If you die, I won't be able to forgive myself because it will probably be all my fault." I was about to open my mouth to say it wouldn't be his fault, but he had stepped closer to me and kissed me on the lips. My brain still clicking into place, processing what had just happened, I put two fingers to my mouth where his lips had touched it and smiled. "Well," Sean said rather formally, "now that that's all cleared up…" he nodded once and turned back to the deathly field of suspended rocks. He let go of my hand, and then jumped. My heart was pounding; I was expecting him to fall to his death. He made it. He spoke then, but didn't turn back to me.

"After I jump onto the next one, you start jumping."

"Okay," I said in a terrified whisper. He leapt onto the next rock. I took a deep breath, and jumped. I had built up a scream for when I fell, but I didn't need it. I had jumped successfully. Sean bounded onto another smaller rock, and then stepped onto a bigger one. His foot slipped, and he fell over. I screamed.

"It's okay," He called. We watched as the wedge of rock he'd pushed off slowly floated back up to its original spot. I followed him with a butterfly infested stomach and a dry mouth. Sean jumped onto his hands and knees onto another, and the rock glided closer to others. It hit the other rocks and I winced at the impact. I realized I was wasting time and quickly made my way closer to Sean. Then I noticed after he had hit the other rocks, he had floated back closer to me. He was on his hands and knees, almost. I slowly lay down onto my stomach, and gripped the rock's edges with my life. The other stones crashed into mine, but I didn't go too far back. I stood up and leapt onto two more rocks. I saw Sean's path empty of other stones, and fretted. Then gradually, another rock glided in front of Sean. He jumped onto it. He was on his hands and knees again. Then I gasped in horror as the rock began somersaulting backward.

"No!" We yelled. He clutched onto it extremely tightly as the rock turned annoyingly slowly. His head torch fell out of his pocket as it flipped him upside down. I let my rock float closer to his, and then jumped onto the one behind Sean's. His rock did a full three-sixty turn.

"Yes!" He said when the rock was still again. "No!" shouted Sean as it flipped forward this time. He gripped on the rock again, until it was the right way up. Soon he reached the end. He got off the rock.

"Come on, Lydia," He encouraged. I nodded and jumped. After two more leaps, I climbed onto another one, and my foot slipped. I screamed and I had something of a heart attack. Once I was breathing normally again, I jumped, but this time, I missed the middle of the rock. I grabbed onto the edge, and the rock turned toward me. I screamed just before I fell.

"NOOOO!" Sean roared. I fell down into the endless floor, still screaming. Nothing really ran through my mind as I had my last moments, just how loud the wind was in my eardrums, which meant I was falling quickly. My hair whipped my face. I had kind of gotten used to falling by now, so I shut my eyes and tried to imagine I was flying. It didn't exactly work as I'd planned. Suddenly something slammed against my shoulder blades.

"OW!" I yelled.

"Lydia?" Sean called hopefully. I couldn't reply – I was a little preoccupied with the throbbing in my shoulders, head and back. Suddenly I realized I wasn't descending anymore. I was rising. A rock below me must have floated to me just in time. I cried out in happiness and then I felt the rock hit the ledge of the other side, and then Sean pulled me off the rock. I wrapped my arms around him, sobbing a little with him.

"I thought you were dead," Sean said as we hugged.

"Me too," I admitted. "I'm never doing that again," I vowed as tears slid down my face. Realizing how little time we had, we let go of each other. Sean and I then walked into a narrow entrance to another huge patch of land. Not knowing what to expect, we looked around warily, and jumped at our own footsteps.

"Hannah?" I called hopelessly.

"Uncle Trevor?" Sean asked. We kept walking, now over mounds of earth. Sean checked his compass. "Still south," he muttered, putting it away. We walked for a few minutes when we came to a large mound of earth. Sean jumped off the mound, and then helped me down because my bad leg was weak. We turned around and gasped at the "mound" we'd jumped off. It was no hill. It was a skull, a dinosaur's skull.

"Man," Sean said, "I really wish I read that book."

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_**A/N: So there it is :) Tell me what you thought in the reviews. **_


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